bambam31

The Lap Band didn't work for me... How many times do we hear this? The fact is the Lap Band DOESN't "work" for anybody... YOU work for YOU... Getting banded and just expecting to drop all of your excess fat is like buying a lawn mower; parking it in the driveway; pulling up a lawn chair; and then complaining that the grass is tall...
Fact is if you aren't getting the desired result then have the equipment fine tuned and try a different strategy. If the equipment is functional then you are the key to achieving success...
Brad

Well I agree and disagree with the other posters...
The key to losing fat - (I say fat because even muscle loss = weight loss and who wants to lose muscle?) is understanding and applying the energy balance PLUS understanding how your body uses food as fuel and how those fuels differ (carbs, fats, Proteins, alcohol).
Your body has a strong will to survive. It will not voluntarily give up its' fat stores. You have to coax and burn them off. You do this by creating a calorie deficit created by BOTH exercise and reduced food intake. Creating this deficit by intake alone will not take an obese person down to a healthy body fat percentage - at best, it will create a skinny fat person.
Calories In Vs. Calories Out is a bit too simplistic. 1000 calories of cotton candy and 1000 calories of skinless chicken breast are profoundly different. The difference in insulin response alone (not to mention other body chemistry) is huge! All calories are not equal.
Ponder this... "Joe" eats 1000 calories a day, day after day. He needs to lose 100 pounds. This low calorie diet gives him a deficit of 2000 calories a day. By this calculation he should be able to completely lose his excess body weight in 175-200 days....(Bet he doesn't)... But what if he continues this trend for several years? Does he completely disappear? Of course not. Because it's not just about calories in/calories out - it's about managing your metabolism via your energy balance.
I eat 1000 calories some days - I eat over 3000 other days. I still have challenging food demons, but I manage them. If I'm going to eat cheat foods, I do so on planned high calorie days. By cycling calories this way - combined with a challenging exercise schedule consisting of both strength and cardiovascular training - I keep my metabolism white hot. My body fat percentage continues to fall, while the scale stays relatively stable (small lean muscle tissue gains). This lifestyle allows fat loss on calorie deficit days and muscle gains on calorie surplus days.
There are several scenarios of posts on LBT that leave me grumbling... One of them is very low calorie diets. People who eat very low calories (600-1000) love the weight loss they initially see. But how much of that weight is lost muscle? Your body is a machine. If it's being starved is it going to give up metabolically active lean muscle tissue which is high maintenance to keep - or fat stores which costs next to nothing to maintain? Some of both, but the ratio is going to tip toward the lean muscle tissue. As muscle tissues decline, your body adjusts it's metabolism in a fight to avoid starvation, the weight loss slows and then comes the unavoidable - yet easily predicted plateau. They havn't lost weight in months, but hey, plateau's are normal right? No... they aren't normal - they mean your body has adjusted your metabolism accordingly to try to stave off starvation. It won't give up without a fight. But their doctor prescribed the 800 calorie low carb diet, so that must not be it... :tt2:
Here's another one... I've read a lot of posts where people are eating 1000 calories and gaining weight and they try to suggest it's muscle gains... Not a chance... It is physiologically impossible to maintain that large of a calorie deficit and gain muscle tissue, which actually requires a calorie surplus. One person is starving themselves eating 800 low carb calories a day, while at the same time I sit here on a high calorie day snacking on Peanut M&M's dipped in Peanut Butter.
"So Brad, if your so damned smart and think this is so easy, then why did you get so fat you needed WLS?" Because I didn't understand the energy balance and how my body used fuel and how those fuel types differ - BUT now I do... And I want everyone else to know too... It may be simple - but it isn't easy... The band is a great tool to help you achieve your goals.
Your body is a wonderful efficient machine when properly understood. Fuel it appropriately and it will reward you!
Good Luck!
Brad

I've done so myself many times, however, don't fret over a scale reading. It's a poor measurement of success anyway. As previously mentioned, strive for a better body composition by improving your body fat percentage.
If after several weeks you have no progress on the scale or with NSV's, then it's time to make an assessment because you've likely reached your energy balance equilibrium and are stalled out.
Don't get too hung up on the “muscle weighs more than fat” rationality though either. Yes, gram for gram that's true, however, most bandsters trying lose weight have a prolonged calorie deficit – and the odds of adding muscle while in a prolonged deficit is nil.
I too have a bowflex that I use as one tool in my exercise routine!
Brad

Well I agree and disagree with the other posters...
The key to losing fat - (I say fat because even muscle loss = weight loss and who wants to lose muscle?) is understanding and applying the energy balance PLUS understanding how your body uses food as fuel and how those fuels differ (carbs, fats, Proteins, alcohol).
Your body has a strong will to survive. It will not voluntarily give up its' fat stores. You have to coax and burn them off. You do this by creating a calorie deficit created by BOTH exercise and reduced food intake. Creating this deficit by intake alone will not take an obese person down to a healthy body fat percentage - at best, it will create a skinny fat person.
Calories In Vs. Calories Out is a bit too simplistic. 1000 calories of cotton candy and 1000 calories of skinless chicken breast are profoundly different. The difference in insulin response alone (not to mention other body chemistry) is huge! All calories are not equal.
Ponder this... "Joe" eats 1000 calories a day, day after day. He needs to lose 100 pounds. This low calorie diet gives him a deficit of 2000 calories a day. By this calculation he should be able to completely lose his excess body weight in 175-200 days....(Bet he doesn't)... But what if he continues this trend for several years? Does he completely disappear? Of course not. Because it's not just about calories in/calories out - it's about managing your metabolism via your energy balance.
I eat 1000 calories some days - I eat over 3000 other days. I still have challenging food demons, but I manage them. If I'm going to eat cheat foods, I do so on planned high calorie days. By cycling calories this way - combined with a challenging exercise schedule consisting of both strength and cardiovascular training - I keep my metabolism white hot. My body fat percentage continues to fall, while the scale stays relatively stable (small lean muscle tissue gains). This lifestyle allows fat loss on calorie deficit days and muscle gains on calorie surplus days.
There are several scenarios of posts on LBT that leave me grumbling... One of them is very low calorie diets. People who eat very low calories (600-1000) love the weight loss they initially see. But how much of that weight is lost muscle? Your body is a machine. If it's being starved is it going to give up metabolically active lean muscle tissue which is high maintenance to keep - or fat stores which costs next to nothing to maintain? Some of both, but the ratio is going to tip toward the lean muscle tissue. As muscle tissues decline, your body adjusts it's metabolism in a fight to avoid starvation, the weight loss slows and then comes the unavoidable - yet easily predicted plateau. They havn't lost weight in months, but hey, plateau's are normal right? No... they aren't normal - they mean your body has adjusted your metabolism accordingly to try to stave off starvation. It won't give up without a fight. But their doctor prescribed the 800 calorie low carb diet, so that must not be it... :tt2:
Here's another one... I've read a lot of posts where people are eating 1000 calories and gaining weight and they try to suggest it's muscle gains... Not a chance... It is physiologically impossible to maintain that large of a calorie deficit and gain muscle tissue, which actually requires a calorie surplus. One person is starving themselves eating 800 low carb calories a day, while at the same time I sit here on a high calorie day snacking on Peanut M&M's dipped in Peanut Butter.
"So Brad, if your so damned smart and think this is so easy, then why did you get so fat you needed WLS?" Because I didn't understand the energy balance and how my body used fuel and how those fuel types differ - BUT now I do... And I want everyone else to know too... It may be simple - but it isn't easy... The band is a great tool to help you achieve your goals.
Your body is a wonderful efficient machine when properly understood. Fuel it appropriately and it will reward you!
Good Luck!
Brad

IMO stay away from steroids... The whole point of the band is to get healthier and that route is counterproductive. At any rate, to be anabolic while losing fat is no easy task. It can be done in tiny steps through calorie cycling but I would reserve that for a bit down the road and just focus on fat loss at the outset....
Brad

Anxiety is normal but it will pass. Progress breeds confidence and new confidence continues to raise the bar... I remember being scared to death to be seen without a shirt and now I have days that I'm allergic to shirts... :-) If you surpassed the anxiety of marketing products you'll whip this no problem!
Brad

Anxiety is normal but it will pass. Progress breeds confidence and new confidence continues to raise the bar... I remember being scared to death to be seen without a shirt and now I have days that I'm allergic to shirts... :-) If you surpassed the anxiety of marketing products you'll whip this no problem!
Brad

A heart rate monitor that allows you to enter your individual personal stats to track calories burned is the best 100 bucks you'll ever spend!
Brad

A heart rate monitor that allows you to enter your individual personal stats to track calories burned is the best 100 bucks you'll ever spend!
Brad

Everyone is a bit different but many, myself included, after being sufficiently restricted, find that they feel tighter and can eat less or have a more restricted choice of foods early in their day. Tissues have a tendency to be firm and tighter at the start of the day. This holds true for many for all tissues - if I look in the mirror in the morning I have more firm muscle tone than later in the day.
It's just important to be certain you are getting good nutrition and don't skip eating because you are tighter than the rest of the day. That's one reason why Protein shakes can be a good morning nutrition option...
Brad

The Lap Band didn't work for me... How many times do we hear this? The fact is the Lap Band DOESN't "work" for anybody... YOU work for YOU... Getting banded and just expecting to drop all of your excess fat is like buying a lawn mower; parking it in the driveway; pulling up a lawn chair; and then complaining that the grass is tall...
Fact is if you aren't getting the desired result then have the equipment fine tuned and try a different strategy. If the equipment is functional then you are the key to achieving success...
Brad

Everyone is a bit different but many, myself included, after being sufficiently restricted, find that they feel tighter and can eat less or have a more restricted choice of foods early in their day. Tissues have a tendency to be firm and tighter at the start of the day. This holds true for many for all tissues - if I look in the mirror in the morning I have more firm muscle tone than later in the day.
It's just important to be certain you are getting good nutrition and don't skip eating because you are tighter than the rest of the day. That's one reason why Protein shakes can be a good morning nutrition option...
Brad

A heart rate monitor that allows you to enter your individual personal stats to track calories burned is the best 100 bucks you'll ever spend!
Brad

If you hate exercise and want to get to a toned goal - you better learn to stop hating exercise... The replacement to exercise is that there is no replacement to exercise...

The Lap Band didn't work for me... How many times do we hear this? The fact is the Lap Band DOESN't "work" for anybody... YOU work for YOU... Getting banded and just expecting to drop all of your excess fat is like buying a lawn mower; parking it in the driveway; pulling up a lawn chair; and then complaining that the grass is tall...
Fact is if you aren't getting the desired result then have the equipment fine tuned and try a different strategy. If the equipment is functional then you are the key to achieving success...
Brad

Well I agree and disagree with the other posters...
The key to losing fat - (I say fat because even muscle loss = weight loss and who wants to lose muscle?) is understanding and applying the energy balance PLUS understanding how your body uses food as fuel and how those fuels differ (carbs, fats, Proteins, alcohol).
Your body has a strong will to survive. It will not voluntarily give up its' fat stores. You have to coax and burn them off. You do this by creating a calorie deficit created by BOTH exercise and reduced food intake. Creating this deficit by intake alone will not take an obese person down to a healthy body fat percentage - at best, it will create a skinny fat person.
Calories In Vs. Calories Out is a bit too simplistic. 1000 calories of cotton candy and 1000 calories of skinless chicken breast are profoundly different. The difference in insulin response alone (not to mention other body chemistry) is huge! All calories are not equal.
Ponder this... "Joe" eats 1000 calories a day, day after day. He needs to lose 100 pounds. This low calorie diet gives him a deficit of 2000 calories a day. By this calculation he should be able to completely lose his excess body weight in 175-200 days....(Bet he doesn't)... But what if he continues this trend for several years? Does he completely disappear? Of course not. Because it's not just about calories in/calories out - it's about managing your metabolism via your energy balance.
I eat 1000 calories some days - I eat over 3000 other days. I still have challenging food demons, but I manage them. If I'm going to eat cheat foods, I do so on planned high calorie days. By cycling calories this way - combined with a challenging exercise schedule consisting of both strength and cardiovascular training - I keep my metabolism white hot. My body fat percentage continues to fall, while the scale stays relatively stable (small lean muscle tissue gains). This lifestyle allows fat loss on calorie deficit days and muscle gains on calorie surplus days.
There are several scenarios of posts on LBT that leave me grumbling... One of them is very low calorie diets. People who eat very low calories (600-1000) love the weight loss they initially see. But how much of that weight is lost muscle? Your body is a machine. If it's being starved is it going to give up metabolically active lean muscle tissue which is high maintenance to keep - or fat stores which costs next to nothing to maintain? Some of both, but the ratio is going to tip toward the lean muscle tissue. As muscle tissues decline, your body adjusts it's metabolism in a fight to avoid starvation, the weight loss slows and then comes the unavoidable - yet easily predicted plateau. They havn't lost weight in months, but hey, plateau's are normal right? No... they aren't normal - they mean your body has adjusted your metabolism accordingly to try to stave off starvation. It won't give up without a fight. But their doctor prescribed the 800 calorie low carb diet, so that must not be it... :tt2:
Here's another one... I've read a lot of posts where people are eating 1000 calories and gaining weight and they try to suggest it's muscle gains... Not a chance... It is physiologically impossible to maintain that large of a calorie deficit and gain muscle tissue, which actually requires a calorie surplus. One person is starving themselves eating 800 low carb calories a day, while at the same time I sit here on a high calorie day snacking on Peanut M&M's dipped in Peanut Butter.
"So Brad, if your so damned smart and think this is so easy, then why did you get so fat you needed WLS?" Because I didn't understand the energy balance and how my body used fuel and how those fuel types differ - BUT now I do... And I want everyone else to know too... It may be simple - but it isn't easy... The band is a great tool to help you achieve your goals.
Your body is a wonderful efficient machine when properly understood. Fuel it appropriately and it will reward you!
Good Luck!
Brad

The Lap Band didn't work for me... How many times do we hear this? The fact is the Lap Band DOESN't "work" for anybody... YOU work for YOU... Getting banded and just expecting to drop all of your excess fat is like buying a lawn mower; parking it in the driveway; pulling up a lawn chair; and then complaining that the grass is tall...
Fact is if you aren't getting the desired result then have the equipment fine tuned and try a different strategy. If the equipment is functional then you are the key to achieving success...
Brad

The Lap Band didn't work for me... How many times do we hear this? The fact is the Lap Band DOESN't "work" for anybody... YOU work for YOU... Getting banded and just expecting to drop all of your excess fat is like buying a lawn mower; parking it in the driveway; pulling up a lawn chair; and then complaining that the grass is tall...
Fact is if you aren't getting the desired result then have the equipment fine tuned and try a different strategy. If the equipment is functional then you are the key to achieving success...
Brad

The working hard part I think is that there has to be a lifestyle change for most. If you plan on just having a surgery and then coasting - 90% will fail to achieve the desired result. Of course there will always be anomalies but for most the ultimate goal requires sufficient exercise and attention to detail. It requires learning and learning and learning with bouts of trial and error.
Far too many IMO expect a miracle, give a mediocre effort and then complain they stopped losing and the band just isn't working.
Brad

The Lap Band didn't work for me... How many times do we hear this? The fact is the Lap Band DOESN't "work" for anybody... YOU work for YOU... Getting banded and just expecting to drop all of your excess fat is like buying a lawn mower; parking it in the driveway; pulling up a lawn chair; and then complaining that the grass is tall...
Fact is if you aren't getting the desired result then have the equipment fine tuned and try a different strategy. If the equipment is functional then you are the key to achieving success...
Brad

The working hard part I think is that there has to be a lifestyle change for most. If you plan on just having a surgery and then coasting - 90% will fail to achieve the desired result. Of course there will always be anomalies but for most the ultimate goal requires sufficient exercise and attention to detail. It requires learning and learning and learning with bouts of trial and error.
Far too many IMO expect a miracle, give a mediocre effort and then complain they stopped losing and the band just isn't working.
Brad

Anxiety is normal but it will pass. Progress breeds confidence and new confidence continues to raise the bar... I remember being scared to death to be seen without a shirt and now I have days that I'm allergic to shirts... :-) If you surpassed the anxiety of marketing products you'll whip this no problem!
Brad

A heart rate monitor that allows you to enter your individual personal stats to track calories burned is the best 100 bucks you'll ever spend!
Brad

Everyone is a bit different but many, myself included, after being sufficiently restricted, find that they feel tighter and can eat less or have a more restricted choice of foods early in their day. Tissues have a tendency to be firm and tighter at the start of the day. This holds true for many for all tissues - if I look in the mirror in the morning I have more firm muscle tone than later in the day.
It's just important to be certain you are getting good nutrition and don't skip eating because you are tighter than the rest of the day. That's one reason why Protein shakes can be a good morning nutrition option...
Brad

The working hard part I think is that there has to be a lifestyle change for most. If you plan on just having a surgery and then coasting - 90% will fail to achieve the desired result. Of course there will always be anomalies but for most the ultimate goal requires sufficient exercise and attention to detail. It requires learning and learning and learning with bouts of trial and error.
Far too many IMO expect a miracle, give a mediocre effort and then complain they stopped losing and the band just isn't working.
Brad